He arrived in 2015. He never left.
Once you create a character like Stripey, you don't really get to decide where he goes next. Or who he might run into. That's probably my favourite thing about him: a painted emu becomes a friend. A hospital corridor becomes an adventure.
And for a little while, the whole place feels just a little bit less... serious.
Along with kangaroos, quokkas, wombats, frogs and a whole cast of quirky Australian wildlife, Stripey has been helping brighten the children's areas at Fiona Stanley Hospital for more than a decade.
Children love the characters. Parents chat about the characters with their kids, and in those moments, these little characters become the biggest part of the day for these little people.
The Fiona Stanley Hospital Story
It all started with a visit to my gallery
In 2015, I had a visit from thehead nurse of the Children's Neonatal Ward at Fiona Stanley Hospital, who had seen my quirky Australian wildlife characters and wondered whether they might help make the hospital feel a little less clinical and a lot more welcoming for children and their families.
She asked if I'd be interested in having my artwork featured throughout the children's wards.
Of course, my answer was yes.
Rather than creating a handful of images, I gave Fiona Stanley Hospital permission to use my entire body of work for the project, without charging a licensing fee. I wanted the team to have the freedom to choose the characters that would best suit each space and create a truly immersive experience for young patients.
As plans for the project gathered momentum, the Herald newspaper shared the story.
Then something extraordinary happened.
It caught the attention of the Bull Creek Lions Club, who were inspired to get involved. They generously raised $19,000 to professionally reproduce and install my illustrations directly onto the walls using digital printing technology.
The result?
Mobs of emus, kangaroos, wombats and frogs appearing across rooms, corridors and offices throughout the hospital.
As the Lions put it at the time
It was a fantastic project. One that would give immense pleasure to parents and patients for many years to come
I posted on Facebook at the time
How exciting, humbling and awesome. 89 of my images were printed directly on the walls of Fiona Stanley Paediatric Ward with a digital printer. Some are from my children's books...
I always imagined the artwork would brighten the days of children, but I never expected the doctors and nurses to adopt their own favourite animals too. The Head of the neonatal unit told me the murals had become a real morale booster for the staff. And those little emu footprints? They literally walk us through the hospital.
Why colour matters more than we sometimes realise
Hospitals are places of healing, but they can also feel overwhelming for children.
While murals and illustrations aren't a medical treatment, an environment that feels friendly and feels playful is therapeutic. We are seeing installations in public places all over the world be prioritised for that reason. Colour, storytelling and artwork give us all a sense of calm.
For children, a colourful mural becomes much more.
It becomes part of their world.
A familiar face each visit.
A game to play while they wait.
A story they can take with them.
They create adventures, invent personalities and imagine what Stripey and his friends might be getting up to when no one is watching.
Have you met Stripey yet?
If you've ever visited the children's ward at Fiona Stanley Hospital, there's a good chance you've already met Stripey. He's become something of a local celebrity and a bit of an expat too, having appeared on the British telly's BBC kids' show CBeebies.
Stripey is much more than an illustration.
He's someone children look for.
Someone they wave to.
Someone they talk to.
Someone they remember.
That's probably my favourite part of the whole project.
Because that's exactly what art does. It has people stop and look. It helps people have a chat and connect.
The little moments families remember.
One parent recently shared something that perfectly captured why projects like this matter.
Our son spends a lot of time in hospital, a frequent flyer you could say... and it makes such a difference coming into the rooms and the wards when there is colour and characters and things we can spot and chat about. He starts talking about the characters before we even get to the hospital. Getting excited to see his favourite ones. We say hello to the animals and talk about what the emus are doing, how long they might be staying in hospital and what appointments they are here for. Those little conversations help us all relax, and as a parent, that's everything.
It's more fun with a helping hand
I gave the hospital access to my body of work with illustrations from my children's books, including Australian wildlife characters, at no cost, and that was an absolute pleasure, but getting those cheeky animals on the walls – well, that was a big one.
Bringing the illustrations to life on such a large scale needed specialist expertise. The artwork was installed by two Australian companies, Print2Wall and Veescape, who used large-format vertical printers to bring my characters to life directly onto the hospital walls. They look incredible.
So where's Stripey?
Stripey is still on the move. Turns out that cheeky sketch of a little emu has taken on a life of its own. This year Stripey turns 21 years old, and that's pretty special. Parents who met Stripey as toddlers are bringing their own children to the ward and seeing him. Grandparents who read the books are pointing him out to grandchildren who are discovering him for the very first time.
Continue the adventure.
Contact Wendy Binks at Stunned Emu Designs
Where will we see Stripey and his friends next? Your guess is as good as mine. Maybe in another hospital, a school library, a waiting room or a community space. If you've got a blank wall and a big idea, let's have a chat. You never know what adventures might unfold.
Every space has a story waiting to be told.
